In the semiconductor industry, circuits, such as monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs), are typically electrically connected to a substrate having peripheral circuitry according to traditional interconnect approaches using, for example, wire bonding or flip chip technology. Flip chip mounting has found wide application in the semiconductor packaging and assembly industry for digital and low frequency analog chips because it typically provides a cost and size reduction for the resulting semiconductor package. In contrast to the wire bonding interconnect approach, the flip chip mounting technique involves flipping the chip and connecting the chip's top surface to the substrate. A number of electrically conductive flip chip bumps, depending upon the complexity of the chip, are typically provided between the chip's top surface and the substrate to provide an electrical connection between the chip and the substrate, and hence the other components connected to the top surface of the substrate.